MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola framed Saturday's Premier League meeting with Leeds United as a must-focus, must-respond moment amid a widening gap to leaders Arsenal in the table.
Leading with a message of urgency, Guardiola said the priority is to lock in on the next 90 minutes rather than the bigger picture -- but he did not shy away from the reality of the title race.
"I've always had experience to talk about the next game and then after that we will see," Guardiola said on Friday. "I know the distance is already there and Arsenal is so strong, we see it game by game they are getting better and better as a team."
City, third in the table, trail Arsenal by seven points after 12 games, and are a point behind second-placed Chelsea. Leeds are in the relegation zone in 18th.
Guardiola's men will be looking to reassert themselves after recent setbacks -- a 2-1 league defeat at Newcastle and a 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
In their defeat to Newcastle, the manager said his players had played "to not make mistakes, not to do something and that is so difficult".
"In football you have to play, in defence you have to try and if you lose in your actions you did it; they played to be safe," he said.
On the back of the Leverkusen defeat, he also suggested his players were lacking confidence.
"I had a lot of confidence in them and I still do," Guardiola said. "I put huge value as to what they are as football players.
"Maybe I think higher of them than they think about themselves. It was a good lesson for me, as experienced as I am as a manager it was a good lesson for me for the future."
Guardiola made 10 changes to his team against Leverkusen on Tuesday and it backfired in a big way. City's league-leading scorer Erling Haaland was a second-half substitute but could not provide any late-game heroics.
Guardiola on Friday downplayed his reliance on the 25-year-old Norwegian, who has 14 goals in the league this season. No other City player has more than one.
"Not the main concern but in general the last game, we did many good things in the game, in defence and of course Erling is massively important but others are as well," he said.
City and Spain midfielder Rodri remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, but Guardiola said he is "not far" from returning.
(Reporting by Lori EwingEditing by Toby Davis)
